


Force of Nature - The Phantom Menace

by TheCaillic



Series: Force of Nature [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Attempted Murder, Enemies to Friends, Fusion of Star Wars Legends and Disney Canon, Light Side Sith, Light Side Sith Warrior, Murder Planning, OC Focused, Star Wars: Prequel Trilogy Era
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:15:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27261088
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCaillic/pseuds/TheCaillic
Summary: Sith Acolyte Darth Viveza is sent on a mission to spy on the Queen of Naboo and keep an eye on two enemy Jedi. Her instructions were clear. Do so and nothing more. She has a hard time doing this, due to the younger of the two Jedi.She wanted to strangle the arrogant idiot more than anything.All she had to do was wait. Then she would get her chance. Killing a Jedi would take her one step closer to becoming strong enough to defeat her master. Right?
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Original Female Character(s), Obi-Wan Kenobi/Original Female Character(s), Original Female Characters & Original Female Characters
Series: Force of Nature [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1990459
Comments: 7
Kudos: 11





	1. The Tragedy of Darth Viveza

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Murder, Attempted Child Murder, Almost Frostbite, and Child Abuse

_ Peace is a lie. There is only Passion. _

Melinoe has never known true peace. Ever since she was a child, there had been no rest: only fear, anger, and pain.

Born on the planet Csilla in 53 BBY to Nize'etune'rrazi (known as Nietune to her loved ones), a caring woman and a committed healer, and Hypnos, a proud man and a member of the Jedi Order.

Melinoe’s birth was initially celebrated by her mother’s family. This happiness quickly turned to concern when the child was discovered to be force sensitive like her father.

Nietune feared for her daughter. She knew that no matter what she did, she was more than likely going to lose her daughter. She didn’t want her to be taken away and forced into the lonely existence that was being a Jedi, but if she stayed and her people found out about Melinoe’s abilities, she would be killed on sight.

In the end, Nietune didn’t let her sentiment get the better of her. She made Hypnos promise to take Melinoe to the Jedi Order. Where she would be safe. Hypnos did so but warned that it would take time. Maybe if Nietune knew what was going to happen to her precious child and her lover, she would have done things differently. Unfortunately, this has all passed, and there’s nothing we can do about it.

Hypnos later disappeared after he made his promise to Nietune. Melinoe remembers nothing of her father. Except for the things he left behind.

Life went on. Nietune continued to work, and Melinoe helped out in any way she could. Melinoe learnt a lot of useful things while working with her mother. Such as how to repair beaten bodies and mend broken minds. She even earned her full chiss name, Nize'linoe'rrazi, from doing so.

Growing up among other chiss was strange for Melinoe. She looked much more human than chiss, with the exception of the blue diamond birthmarks on her cheeks.

Her cousins would often ask their parents why Melinoe didn’t look like them. They didn’t mean anything by it. They were just young and didn’t know any better.

But honestly, her appearance wasn’t the biggest problem for Melinoe. The fact that she aged like a human is what really bothered her. You see, a chiss tends to age reasonably quickly by human standards. By the time they reach the age of ten a chiss will have grown to the size of a twenty-year-old human and be considered fully of age.

It can be quite jarring to have grown up around children who mature twice as fast as you. One day you're all the same age playing and joking around as children do. But then suddenly everyone else is all grown up and want nothing to do with their ‘annoying child cousin’.

Melinoe tried to never complain, but Nietune knew that this situation took a toll on Melinoe. It was just another thing that helped alienate from the rest of her family and people.

Nietune would offer reassurance whenever she could. She knew deep down that her little one would achieve great things one day, and that she would most likely do this far away from Csilla.

Right before the girl’s eleventh birthday, Nietune rushed into her daughter’s bedroom. Pushing her into a nearby closet, giving her instructions to head to some nearby caves in the mountains when she saw an opportunity to escape.

Melinoe didn’t see the men breaking into their home. She did see them firing their blasters. She didn’t see her mother fall to the ground.

But she heard it. She heard the shots. The screaming. Her mother's body hitting the floor. Everything.

The men started searching the apartment. It took some maneuvering, but Melinoe saw an opportunity to sneak out a nearby window. While doing so, she passed by her mother’s body. Her dead eyes were wide open with fear. It took all of Melinoe’s strength to not start dry heaving and openly sobbing.

Once she was out the door, Melinoe started running as quickly as her little legs could take her. She followed her mother's instructions, made her way through the snow to the caves.

By the time she reached her safe haven, the girl’s legs were in pain. More pain than she ever felt before. She looked down to see that her feet had become a concerning red colour. She limped over to a nearby rock and sat on it. Hoping to elevate some of the agony shooting up her legs.

It wasn’t as if she'd never gone out to play in the snow before, but given the distance and the fact that she wasn’t wearing shoes, her body just couldn’t take it. She didn’t know how long she had been sitting there. She became distracted with replaying the night's events over and over in her head.

As the night got darker and colder, Melinoe started feeling weaker and weaker. Eventually, it became impossible for Melinoe to see anything. It also became so quiet. Melinoe couldn’t even hear the wind from the entrance anymore. She just sat there. Seeing no point in moving.

Then something strange happened. She started hearing whispers. She couldn’t tell where they were coming from. It was as if they were all over the place. Melinoe kept looking around, trying to find the source of all of the voices.

No matter where she moved the pitch of the voices didn’t change. After a while, she just couldn’t take it anymore.

Melinoe fell to the floor. The image of her mother. The throbbing from her feet. The voices. It was too much. She started sobbing uncontrollably.

She started calling out for a mother that would never come. Screamed for the pain to stop. For the voices to shut up.

As she cried, the voices started to become more transparent and louder. It went on for what felt like days. They were all asking the same question. What did Melinoe want? They just kept asking and asking it over and over.

Everything subsequently went quiet. Melinoe paused. The girl squinted her eyes open and stopped clutching her ears. She started looking around again. It was just as dark as before. Melinoe could feel the second wave of tears welling up behind her eyes.

Melinoe let out a gasp when another voice made itself known. This voice appeared to be much calmer than the rest. Speaking to the young girl in a polite tone. Melinoe and the voice talked to one another for a while.

At some point, Melinoe felt the energy around her shift. She started focusing on her legs again. She started wishing for the pain to go away again. She put all her focus into trying to do so. She didn’t expect this to work. That wasn’t how things worked. You don’t make a wish, and the pain will go away.

But for some reason it did work. She didn’t know how, but more she concentrated the pain started to slowly fade away.

The voice spoke up again. Congratulating her. What for? It eventually started to sound distant. As if it was moving away from her.

Melinoe started following it on instinct. She figured that it was her best way of finding how to get out of the darkness. The child had so many thoughts and feelings rushing through her head. She tried her hardest just to focus on the voice.

To Melinoe’s surprise, she actually saw a light. It was small, but definitely real. Melinoe rushed towards it. As she hurried, the light started to get brighter. Melinoe was relieved to be able to see where she was going. She noticed that the brightness was coming from a small opening towards the top of the cave.

Melinoe started making her way up to it but found it to be a bit tricky, and she found herself doing a lot of maneuvering. After slipping three or four times, she managed to reach the opening. She peeked through to make sure there weren’t any immediate threats on the other side.

When seeing nothing but the seemingly endless amount of snow Melinoe made a move to shimmy out to the other side. Once she was out, Melinoe scanned her surroundings again. She didn’t recognise the place, but then again, she never ventured very far from the house.

Melinoe continued to look around and spotted a house nearby. It was hidden away. If you weren’t actively looking for something like Melinoe you most likely wouldn’t have seen it. It was built into the side of the mountain and almost completely buried in snow and looked like it had seen better days.

Melinoe slowly made her way down towards it. Making sure not to slip and fall while heading down the snowy mountainside. She forced a window open and climbed inside.

The inside was much worse than the outside. Melinoe could tell that no one had been in there for a long time. Although Melinoe went further into the house. Hoping for something, anything, that could help with her legs.

Most of the pain had faded away, but there were still some small open wounds that she didn’t want to take a chance with.

Her luck didn’t seem to get much better. She looked through the cabinets only to find more of the medicine was either on the bottom of the cabinets in a sticky glassy mess, or it had gone rotten a long time ago. Melinoe let out a frustrated sigh.

Melinoe had no choice but to simply wrap up her legs and hope to find something that would help later on.

The next couple of days were uneventful. They were mostly made of looking for food and trying to think of where she could go before the wrong people found her. She had found some old clothes inside the house that would protect her from the harsh terrain and weather while travelling around.

Every now and then her mind would drift back to the caves. What had happened in there? How did her legs heal so fast? Was it something she did, or was it the voices doing?

Speaking of the voices; they were still talking. Ever since she made her escape, they had been talking in the back of her head. Admittedly they weren’t nearly as loud the further away she went from the caves. But she could still hear them in the back of her head sometimes. Telling her how to move boulders and pick birds out of the sky without even touching anything.

It gave Melinoe such a strange rush. Being so small, but able to control things with such ease.

It took about a month for Melinoe to make her way back to the populated areas. She could have made it back sooner, if she went through the caves again, but refused to do so.

She figured that her best option would be to try and hide with one of her aunts or uncles. She would be safe with them. Hopefully.

Melinoe took extra precaution while making her way to her destination. She didn’t know who she could trust anymore. Any one of the people she snuck passed by could have had something to do with her mother’s death.

When she made it to one her uncle's house she checked the window expecting that she would see her uncle. What she didn’t expect was two of the men from that horrid night. Her uncle was sitting at a desk, barking at them. Melinoe ducked out of view but continued to listen.

What Melinoe heard next made her stomach churn. Her uncle was berating the men for failing to kill the right person. He yelled about how they were supposed to just kill the girl, not Nize'etune'rrazi. Melinoe continued to listen, but couldn't believe what she was hearing. It wasn’t possible. Her family wouldn’t do this, would they?

Melinoe could feel the tears welling up in her eyes again. She couldn’t process what was going on. She was so distracted by the pounding in her head that she didn’t notice a third man making his way towards her.

He grabbed her roughly by the neck and started dragging her inside the house. Melinoe desperately kept trying to concentrate long enough to use the tricks the voices had taught her. When it became clear that wasn’t going to happen, the girl started kicking and screaming to try and escape. Due to her small size, this also wasn’t successful.

The man dragged her inside to where her uncle and the other men were talking. When seeing her, they all started screaming at one another. Trying to decide what to do with her. Her uncle kept calling for them to just kill her and get it over with.

One of them must have gotten sick of the arguing and pulled out his blaster. Aiming it right between Melinoe’s eyes. Before it even happened, Melinoe saw an image of the man pulling the trigger. This caused her to put her hands up in defence.

This caused the bolt of energy to bounce right back at the man. Everyone in the room stared in horror as they watched him fall to the floor. One of the other men tried to do the same. Only to get similar results. The third attempted to run out of the room to be launched into the ceiling, then slammed back to the floor.

Melinoe slowly turned back to her uncle. She felt numb. Almost like nothing around her mattered. She looked at her uncle. He was standing there. Uncontrollable shaking with his eyes filled with fear. He suddenly started screaming. About how this was why Melinoe needed to be gotten rid of. 

Why their family had no choice but to send those killers to her mother's home?

Melinoe just kept staring at him. Not saying anything. Just looking at him with a vacant stare in her eyes.

After a couple more seconds Melinoe decided she had heard enough. She raised her hand and watched as an invisible force grabbed hold of the man before her. He started kicking and screaming. Begging for her to spare him. Melinoe felt nothing.

Five minutes later, Melinoe was walking down the street. Leaving behind a broken window and a man howling in pain in the middle of the street. Most of the people nearby would rush to check on him. A few would move towards her. Trying to get an explanation to how this happened.

They ended up in similar conditions.

Melinoe didn’t know where she was going. She just kept walking. Eventually, she happened to start heading in the same direction back to the mountains. Once again, the closer she got, the louder the voices got. A lot of them were congratulating her. Some were telling her off for not finishing the job.

She didn’t really care to be honest. She still felt that numbness from before and didn’t know what to do about it.

News of what happened travelled pretty fast. A lot of people ended up going into the woods looking for Melinoe. None of them lasted very long. The cycle of people attempting to hunt the girl down lasted for a couple of months until someone different arrived.

Melinoe sensed the woman before she could even see her. Melinoe could tell this one was different. Her energy was…. Evil. It wasn’t just dark or angry. It was downright evil. When Melinoe first sensed it, her instinct told her to run away and hide.

Unfortunately, the woman seemed to know exactly where she was at all times. Melinoe was chased for hours until the woman and accomplices corner Melinoe. She tried her best to use her power, but it all became mute when the woman raised her own hand.

Melinoe suddenly felt nothing, but pain. Like dozens of white-hot knives were being stabbed into her little body. She started riving around in pain until she passed out.

For a while, she kept regaining and losing consciousness. At one point, she managed to stay awake long enough to take in her surroundings. As far as she could tell, she was on a ship. She couldn’t work out where it was going or what the people on the said ship wanted from her. She kept looking around until her eyelids started to feel heavy.

The next time she was woken up, it was because of another voice. All of the others had stopped since the woman had knocked Melione out, but this one was different. All it was doing was calling out her name in a panicked tone. It wasn’t someone she recognised, but somehow familiar. It caused her to wake up suddenly. Snapping up from the ground.

The first thing she heard was a yelp. Melinoe turned to see another child around her age with her hands raised up in defence. Melinoe just looked at her for a while. Trying to decide if this girl was a threat or not.

When Melinoe continued to not say anything the girl piped up. Saying that it seemed like the guards had roughed her up pretty badly by the time Melinoe was thrown in the cell. She continued, introducing herself as Eglantine, and asking if it was okay to get the other girl’s name.

Melinoe didn’t say anything. Still trying to work out what this girl’s game was. Melinoe looked her up and down. This was the first time in nearly a year that Melinoe didn’t sense any malice coming from the other person she was dealing with. It put Melinoe on edge.

Melinoe asked where she was. Eglantine explained that she was currently on the planet Byss. Where she would be trained in the ways of the Sith. Whether she liked it or not.

Melinoe was confused for a second. What exactly was a Sith?

Eglantine explained it to be an individual who trained in the ways of the dark side of the Force.

Melinoe was sure Eglantine was helpful in some sense, but Melinoe still didn’t quite understand. Eglantine was happy to keep answering her questions and providing details. About halfway into the conversation Melinoe realised that it must have been a long time since Eglantine had anyone to talk to.

When Melinoe finished asking all her questions, she felt that she had a good idea of what was going on.

The powers she had been exhibiting since she was a baby was called the Force. There were generally considered to be two sides of the Force. The Light Side and the Dark Side. The Force Wielders who trained and mastered the Dark Side were most likely Sith. She and Eglantine had been brought to Byss to be trained in the ways of the Sith by Darth Heiss, so that they could later be used as puppets.

This didn’t sit well with Melinoe. She started looking for a weak spot somewhere in the small closed-off room she and Eglantine were sitting in. Eglantine warned her that she likely wouldn’t find a way out, since she had been there for nearly a year and didn’t have any luck.

Melinoe asked Eglantine if she expected her to just stay put. Eglantine bluntly told her no and promised that if she did find a way out, the two of them could go together.

Melinoe called her out on the fact that the two of them had only known each other for an hour. So why would she promise that?

Eglantine smiled and stated that she could sense that Melinoe was someone she could trust.

Trust?

Melinoe hadn’t had anyone to trust for a long time. She looked Eglantine up and down again. She thought about it for a second. Eglantine had a strange energy about her. It reminded Melinoe of her mother. Maybe she would take a chance for this girl. Considering the circumstances Eglantine was probably her best bet.

Melinoe reached out her hand to the girl. Silently asking if she meant what she said.

Eglantine looked surprised for a second then eagerly took Melinoe’s outstretched hand.

For the first time since her mother’s death, Melinoe smiled. She introduced herself to her new ally. Stating that her name was Melinoe Lanami.


	2. The Sounds of Suffering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: Fighting, Attempted Murder, Hand Stomping, and Mind Torture.
> 
> Bold Text = Specking Marazies
> 
> Italics: Dream sequence or inner thoughts
> 
> Translations:  
> Anaman = Jedi

**“Mel, I think you should get up,”** Eglantine said, shaking her friend's shoulder.

**“What Eggie? We don’t have to get to training yet.”** Melinoe said without opening her eyes or lifting her head up.

**“Yeah, but someone’s coming, and I don’t think they’re happy,”** Eglantine whispered while her eyes darted over to the sealed door.

Melinoe’s eyes snapped open when she suddenly heard what Eglantine was talking about. Melinoe leaned up off the ground right as there was a loud banging at the metal door.

“Get up! Darth Heiss wants to see you both at the training grounds.”

Melinoe and Eglantine both scoffed at the man’s failed attempt to intimidate them. Melinoe got up from the old sleeping mat and the pile of rags on the floor that she called a bed, and started getting dressed. Despite the small space the two women shared they had both learned to move around without getting in each other's way over the past eleven years.

**“Mel, have you seen my saber?”**

**“You put it in my usual spot.”**

**“Thank you!"** Eglantine said in a happy tone. Rushing over to where Melinoe kept her stuff hidden from the prying hands of the night. Eglantine picked up the slick dark silver blade and clipped it to her belt. Melinoe always felt a rush of pride for her friend when seeing the weapon. Eglantine had risked her neck to get the parts for it and always acted like it was the easiest thing in the universe to do.

After the two were done getting ready Melinoe made her way over to the door and yelled that they were ready to leave. The same guard from before opened the door for them while giving them an ugly look. Melinoe scowled right back at him as she and Eglantine walked down the hall.

As the two walked towards the training grounds. Melinoe let her eyes wander. The blue-green sunlight of Byss was exceptionally bright that day. But unlike a lot of people in the galaxy, Melinoe didn’t take the weather as an indicator of what her luck would be like that day.

**“What do you think she wants?”** Eglantine asked. The guard frowned at the fact that she was speaking a language he couldn’t understand.

**“To make our lives as miserable as possible and eventually turn us into living weapons with no free will of our own.”**

**“Well, I’m well aware of that, but what does she want today?”**

“Alright, you two, shut up.” The guard said as they arrived at the training grounds. He moved towards the ladies and motioned for them to show their hands. Eglantine was the first to move towards him with her arms out. The man cautiously removed the bonds from Eglantine’s wrists, and he did the same for Melinoe. 

Once he had done so, Melinoe felt the rush of the Force returning to her. She looked down at her hands then back up to the guard. He had a nervous look on his face. Melinoe’s eye flicked over to Eglantine for a second. Who smiled at her. Like she could tell what Melinoe was thinking. Melinoe raised her hands toward the man. Causing him to impulsively flinch back. Melinoe grinned, and Eglantine let out a snort. 

Melinoe hated a lot of things about her training and Byss, but one of the things she hated the most was the bonds she and Eglantine were forced to wear. Made out of ysalamiri pelts, the bonds were designed to make sure that the two women couldn’t fully tap into their connections with the Force while wearing them.

They made it almost impossible to do anything other than sense the presence of others nearby. 

The guard didn’t say anything. He just gave Melinoe another pissed off look. Melinoe opened her mouth to say something but stopped when she sensed someone walking towards them.

“I trust you’re not wasting time playing with servants?” Melinoe felt her whole body cringe when she heard that voice. 

“Of course not,” Melinoe replied in a flat tone.

“Good.” The woman’s pale eyes drifted over to Eglantine. 

Darth Heiss was unsettling, to say the least. She had this weird way of making every cell in your body crawl. Melinoe and Eglantine had been training under her for eleven years and still had moments where their master's energy was just too much for them to handle.

“Interesting, you seem to have improved when it comes concealing your emotions,” Heiss said. “Too bad you're still not on the same level as your friend.”

Eglantine’s face stayed blank despite the backhanded comment. She refused to give Heiss the satisfaction she wanted. 

Heiss turned away from the two other women and gave them instructions, to begin with their daily training routine. 

“Lord Sidious’ apprentice will be sparring with the two of you later today. Don’t disappoint me like you usually do.” Oh, so that’s why she got them to get up early.

Heiss made her way up the stairs to observe Melinoe and Eglantine’s training from up above.

Melinoe couldn’t help the annoyed grunt that came out of her throat. Heiss acted as if Maul could beat Melinoe and Eglantine without a second thought, but in reality, the two of them were more than capable of defeating him if Heiss didn’t stop them before striking the final blow every time. 

As the two of them walked to the centre of the room, Eglantine whispered in Melinoe’s ear.

**“Relax Darth Viveza. It’s gonna be fine.”** Eglantine once again spoke in her native tongue, while placing her hand on Melinoe’s shoulder. 

Melinoe couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s nickname for her. Strange little gestures like this were used quite often with the two women. Speaking the language of Marazi was for Eglantine, and the handle was for Melinoe. Melinoe had worked out that talking the language of Eglantine’s people reminded the younger girl that her home was still out there and that someday she would reunite with her family. 

As the two of them got ready to fight, Melinoe remembered back to a couple of months after first meeting Eglantine. After first meeting Eglantine, Melinoe started to pick up how to understand what her friend was saying by just listening to them speak. Which came in handy when Eglantine began having more and more bad nights. Melinoe learnt quickly that the best way to calm Eglantine down was simply talking to her. 

The ‘Darth Viveza’ nickname, on the other hand, was a bit more complicated. Melinoe wasn’t like Eglantine. She didn’t have a family or home she wanted to go back to. She needed something to look forward to. Eglantine decided the best way to do this was remind Melinoe that someday she would be stronger than the woman holding them captive. That she would defeat Heiss and anyone else who tried to hurt her. Eglantine had this strange way of finding hope in any situation. 

The training droids all make their presence known to the two young Siths. Eglantine was the first to ignite her saber. Quickly followed by Melinoe. 

“Let’s do quick work of this, shall we?” Melinoe confidently asked Eglantine, to which she gave an equally confident nod. 

The sounds of lightsaber strikes and breaking metal filled the area. The two of them would likely have to go through around thirteen more waves of droids then would be forced to fight each other. This was the most basic form of training they had. Most days it's like this, or they were pinned up against some hired fighters to see how they would fare against another living being.

It was a rinse and repeat cycle. To see how long they could last without passing out from exhaustion. The days only ended when Darth Heiss got bored. Sometimes it lasted until dawn to dusk. Most of the time it went much longer.

This kind of life had taken a troll on them - both emotionally and physically. As children, they would always be trying to find ways to escape. The more they did so, the harsher their punishments got. By the time the two were nineteen, they were too exhausted and hurt to move by the end of most days.

And that was just from the lightsaber training.

Anytime that wasn’t spent in the training grounds, or the cells were dedicated to bettering Melinoe and Eglantine’s skills with the Force. Training them to break the bodies and minds of the enemy, along with blocking out anything that may be a threat to their own minds.

Heiss claimed that it was the best way for them to become stronger, but Melinoe didn’t care. To her, it just hurt. Having her mind broken down day after day.

As the day progressed, Melinoe could feel her energy start to fade away. Most of her muscles were starting to ache, and her head began to lightly pound. Judging by the worn-out look on Eglantine’s face, she was reaching that point as well.

Melinoe took a deep breath and moved to strike Eglantine with her saber. Eglantine was able to quickly counter, causing the two to lock lightsabers. The red and yellow blades clashed against each other while both of them pushed to gain the upper hand.

While it was true that the two of them didn’t enjoy fighting each other, they knew the consequences of refusing to do so. Melinoe and Eglantine agreed that when it came to one on one fighting, they would sever all attachments. Only focus on beating their opponent until the other shouted that they yield.

This didn’t always work. Sometimes when Darth Heiss wasn’t present, the two women found themselves enjoying their sparring. Being able to challenge each other without the threat of death or punishment hanging over their heads.

Melinoe did find it rather strange when the Lady of the Sith started spending less and less time on Byss. Eglantine theorised that the woman was finally starting to get bored of torturing them, but Melinoe wasn’t so sure.

She felt that it was too simple. If Heiss was truly tired of them, why not just kill them and replace them with new victims. It was a dark thought on Melinoe’s part, but there were thousands of unclaimed force-wielders in the galaxy. Melinoe and Eglantine wouldn’t be very special to her in the grand scheme of things.

Eglantine and Melinoe kept pushing against each other until Melinoe attempted to use the Force to push her friend back. Unfortunately, Eglantine must have been thinking along the same lines, due to pulling the same trick.

The action caused the two of them to be pushed away from each other. Each quickly tried to regain their footing. Melinoe was the first to do so. She moved forward for another hit, but Eglantine was able to shifty jump over her and land a hard kick to Melinoe’s backside.

This caused Melinoe to fall to the ground and start wheezing.

“I yield! I yield!” Melinoe said though the bursts of coughing.

Eglantine lowered her golden coloured lightsaber away from Melinoe and smiled triumphantly. She reached out her hand for Melinoe to take. Melinoe rolled her eyes at the overconfident look on Eglantine’s face and took her hand.

Melinoe suddenly felt a shiver go down her spine. She looked up to the higher levels to see a new figure had joined Heiss. She recognised them as Darth Maul. A fellow Sith Acolyte and the apprentice of Darth Sidious.

Melinoe had never seen Darth Sidious up close before. Mostly because she and Eglantine were seen as Heiss’ playthings to him. So there was really no point to him interacting with them. On the other hand, he was more than happy to let his apprentice beat them until they couldn’t move. 

Melinoe and Eglantine both stood to attention. Waiting for the next command. Heiss glazed at the both of them. Taking her time in deciding who would face the dathomirian.

Heiss’ eyes landed on Melinoe. She gave her ugly smile and motioned for her to move toward. 

Melinoe was able to keep her emotions locked away and didn’t let herself show any of the dread she was feeling. Eglantine, on the other hand. Melinoe saw the look of concern on the other's face out of the corner of her eye.

It was impossible to tell what one should have done in these situations. After what felt like hundreds of duels with Maul, Heiss still found a way to keep things unpredictable. The two women could never tell which of them would be picked to fight, due to Heiss being able to block the two of them out of her mind.

Sometimes it was the both of them. Sometimes the winner would be dualing Maul. Sometimes the loser would. But they could never tell which beforehand.

Melinoe made her way over to the centre of the training area, while Eglantine moved back towards the edge. The worried look on her face never faded.

Melinoe could still feel a slight bit of pain where Eglantine had kicked her. She ignored it. Knowing that there was no point in focusing on it. As it would only distract her from the fight.

Melinoe and Maul both stood there. Silently staring each other down. Lightsabers at the ready. Waiting for the other to make the first move. 

Maul was the first to strike. Attempting to jab his weapon into Melinoe’s stomach. She stopped him and pushed him back in order to roll around him to get to his blindspot. She swung towards his backside only to be stopped by the second blade of his lightsaber. 

Maul took another swing at his opponent only for her to dodge out of his way again. Melinoe continued to keep deflecting and avoiding all of Maul’s attacks. Hoping that he would start to tire himself out after a while. After a while, it seemed like Melinoe’s plan wasn’t working out as well as she hoped.

It felt like no matter how long she tried to keep the man distracted, he just wouldn’t slow down. As Melinoe narrowly avoided another stab to her chest, she decided that she needed to change her plan of attack. The only problem was she didn’t know what to change it to. 

Lucky an opportunity presented itself. Maul had obviously started to get annoyed with Melinoe jumping around. To the point where he ripped the metal grid from the floor using the Force to throw it at her. Melinoe countered by grabbing hold of it with the Force before it had the chance to hit her. She threw it right back. Only for him to slice it in half with his lightsaber.

Melinoe’s eye snapped towards the opening in the floor, and suddenly an idea popped into her head. She rushed over to the gap and slipped into it. Steering clear of another one of Maul’s assaults. She found herself to be completely surrounded by darkness after she switched off her saber. 

Melinoe waited for a second. Waited to see if Maul would follow her down. When hearing a loud, frustrated growl, Melinoe knew Maul was doing precisely what she needed him to do.

She quickly hid behind one of the large piles in the complex underground area. She heard the sound of Maul’s feet slamming onto the floor after he followed her down. She stayed quiet and waited. She just needed the right moment, and she could go for the kill.

It stayed silent for a while. The only things that could have been heard were the sounds of Maul’s lightsaber buzzing and the occasional creaks from the machinery.

Melinoe was able to catch a glance of the look in Maul’s eyes. It was a look of pure rage. He was clearly getting sick of Melinoe’s little game.

Melinoe could feel the energy coming off him. He was frustrated and out for blood. 

It was a good thing Melinoe was so good at concealing her emotions from outsiders. Otherwise, he may have sensed the anxious and foreboding thoughts building up in her mind. Melinoe continued maneuvering around the dark tunnels. Using her small size and flexibility to slip through the narrower openings.

The sound of a loud crashing in the distance caused Maul to turn away from Melinoe. She saw her chance and made a running leap at him while switching on her lightsaber. However, he managed to react quickly enough to block her. 

Before Melinoe could even process what was happening, Maul sent her flying into one of the many walls of pipes. She felt a massive spike of pain in the area she had previously been kicked. She let out an agonised scream as she fell to the floor.

Maul stalked his way over to her. The light from his saber lit up his face with a horrifying red glow. Maul had a wide grin on his face. He was clearly looking forward to beating Melinoe into a pulp. Melinoe lifted her lightsaber back up. Causing the two to lock weapons. 

In a much darker version of the previous fight, the two opposites pushed against each other. The pain from her back was starting to get the better of her. She couldn’t help but let out grunts of pain as Maul’s lightsaber started to get closer to her.

Everything was starting to hurt. The worst the pain got, the bigger Maul’s smile seemed to get. 

Just as Melinoe thought she lost for good, she heard the sound of footprints fastly approaching. Maul must have heard it too. Whipping around to see Eglantine taking a swing at him. 

For a split second, a look of shock appeared on Maul’s face at Eglantine’s sudden appearance. Unfortunately, he was able to quickly recover from his surprise and stop her attack. Eglantine didn’t hesitate and continued to navigate around the man similarly to when Melinoe was hiding from him moments ago.

Melinoe pushed herself off the wall and felt a sudden rush of adrenaline go through her body. She rushed towards him and finally managed to hit her opponent. Landing a slash to Maul’s backside.

The three Acolytes continued fighting with Melinoe and Eglantine having a clear advantage against Maul. Not only was it two against one, but the two women had the extra edge of being able to move around the cramped space much better than Maul ever could.

After about three more minutes of fighting, Melinoe moved to take the final strike against Maul. She didn’t hesitate. Didn’t stalk or gloat about her victory. Just moved to stab him as fast as she could.

But as usual, no matter how hard she tried, Melinoe just wasn’t quite fast enough.

Right before her lightsaber could make its way through Maul’s head, horrid sounds filled her ears. It was the same sounds that had been used against her for the past eleven years, but always something she still failed to block out.

Melinoe’s hands immediately went to clutch her head. Her lightsaber dropping to the floor with a loud clang. The high pitched screams and distorted drill-like sounds caused her whole body to start shaking uncontrollable.

Melinoe fell to her knees. Hands never leaving her head. She looked up to see Heiss walking towards her with her hand up and the same evil ugly smile on her face. The face that always said ‘your suffering is my happiness’. 

Melinoe started riving around on the floor in excruciating pain. Desperately trying to think of a way out of the situation. Her eyes landed on Eglantine, who seemed to be having as much luck as Melinoe. 

Melinoe did; however, spot Eglantine reaching out a hand. Trying to will her lightsaber over to her. The dark silver hilt started rolling over to her friend. A small look of hope appeared on Eglantine's face. This was short-lived, due to a now standing, Maul stamping his foot on Eglantine’s outstretched hand.

Eglantine let out a cry and clutched her bruised hand. Melinoe looked up at Maul with a burning hatred in her eyes. She tried getting up again to face him, but the more she tried to push past the pain, the louder the noises in her head got.

Eventually, the pain won out, and everything around Melinoe went black.

_ I’m looking for Melinoe? _

_ I’m sorry, Sir. I don’t know anyone by that name. _

_ Anna! My hand! I can’t hold- _

_ Every one of my people is as trustworthy as I am! _

_ I’ll always find my way back to you, Thanatus. You know that. _

_ Why are you helping him? _

_ I dunno. He and the kid hold a place in my heart, I guess.  _

_ Nice to meet you, Poe! _

_ Nice to meet you too, Finn! _

_ Do you really mean that? _

_ Yes. _

_ Liar. _

Melinoe could feel herself waking up. She slowly opened her eyes. Letting them adjust to the small amount of light in the room. The first thing she saw was Eglantine looking down at her.

**“Melinoe! Thank Obriv, you’re awake!”** Eglantine said happily. 

**“How long have I been out?”** Melinoe asked, looking around the same small cell. There was a small glow coming off a lantern, but other than that nothing seemed that different.

**“Two weeks,”** Eglantine said in a cornered tone.

**“That’s a lot shorter than some of the other times.”** Melinoe lifted herself up to get a better look at Eglantine.

**“You shouldn’t be knocked out and basically put into a coma at any time!”** Eglantine said.

Melinoe couldn’t help but smile at her friend's concern for her. Eglantine’s inner healer was popping out again, which was always a welcomed thing in Melinoe’s opinion.

Melinoe’s smile faded when her eyes drifted down to Eglantine’s hand. 

**“Are you alright?"**

**“Oh yes, that healed up ages ago."**

Melinoe frowned at Eglantine’s dismissal at her own injury.

**“Damn that Maul…”** Melinoe hissed under her breath.

**“Don’t worry! we’ll get him back eventually.”** Eglantine smiled.

**“Yeah, I’ll chop something off in retribution for your hand.”**

Eglantine’s smile suddenly disappeared. 

**“I’m sorry about what I did to your back.”**

**“Is it seriously damaged?”**

**“No! It’s just-”**

**“You have no reason to apologise. It wasn’t like you knew that I would be the one to fight Maul next.”**

**“I know…. I wish there was some way to tell which of us she would pick.”**

Heiss had always been set keeping the two Acolytes in the dark as much as possible. Even when Melinoe had tried searching for possible futures regarding her and Eglantine, Heiss had found a way to keep any events involving her hidden from the younger woman’s eyes. This annoyed Melinoe to no end.

**“But that's not what’s important right now,"** Eglantine said. Clapping her hands together. 

**“What do you mean?”**

**“There’s talk of you being sent on a mission.”**

**“What?”**

Sure enough, when it was made clear that Melinoe was finally awake, she was dragged out of the room by two guards. She was taken to one of the many war rooms where an important-looking official (who’s name Melinoe never bothered to learn) started giving her a mission briefing.

The man explained how there were plans for an invasion on the Mid Rim planet of Naboo. Melinoe could tell that a lot of the more important details were being left out. It was most likely a need to know the situation.

Essentially, there needed to be someone who could keep an eye on the newly elected Queen Amidala. Melinoe was to be a fail-safe. If all other options failed, she would carry out whatever instructions she was given.

A small part of Melinoe hated to admit that she was excited about this. It had been a while since she had been given a job like this, and Naboo was the closest she had ever been to the Inner Rim.

Melinoe had a decent amount of knowledge on most of the planets within the Republic. Since she and Eglantine spent a lot of the training researching other worlds, to know how best to infiltrate them.

After the briefing was over, Melinoe was instructed to go and be ready for departure by sunrise. She quickly rushed back to Eglantine to explain what was happening.

“It’s a shame they don’t send us together,” Eglantine said, now speaking basic, as the two of them walked towards the docking stations.

“As much as I hate to say it, they’re not that stupid,” Melinoe replied.

Heiss and her followers were smart enough to realise that sending Melinoe and Eglantine off-world together would only result in the two of them escaping the first chance they got. By separating them, Heiss knew that one would never leave without the other. They were both too stubborn to try and leave their only ally.

“Do you think they’ll send any Anaman?” Eglantine asked with a tilt of her head.

“Probably. Naboo is a fairly high ranking planet within the Republic.”

“You’re gonna be okay, right? If any do show up?”

“Are you insinuating that I could be bested by a lowly Anaman?” Melinoe joked. 

“Well… it’s not like you’ve had much experience fighting any of them.” Eglantine quipped back.

Melinoe let out a fake gasp, which caused Eglantine to start giggling slightly.

True be told neither of the women had ever met a Jedi. With the expection of Melinoe’s father. The closest they had ever come to doing so, was fighting with Force-Wielders like Maul. Despite this, Melinoe still felt confident if she did end up facing a Jedi. 

Much like with their studies of other planets, Melinoe had studied the behaviours of the Jedi. She had everything she would need to defeat one.

The two of them arrived at the loading docks and just stood there for a few moments. Watching the sunrise. 

**“Stay safe, Darth Viveza,”** Eglantine said, and moved to hug her only friend. 

**“Same to you, Eglantine Stello,”** Melinoe said while returning the hug.

Things would never be the same.


	3. Nize Raza

Three months! Finally, after three whole months, something was happening!

“Get their weapons.” Captain Panaka instructed Melinoe, along with the three other guards.

A group of the Viceroy’s droids were taking the Queen and her entourage to one of the nearby prison camps after the young Queen had refused to sign the Viceroy’s treaty. That he needed for the Trade Federation’s little invasion to become legal.

As the group were passing through one of the plazas when a pair of Jedi and a Gungan jumped down from a nearby balcony. The Jedi were quick to start cutting down the surrounding droids and giving instructions to the Queen

“Woah. Yousa guys bombad!” The Gungan yelled.

Melinoe gave him a confused look while taking the guns off the destroyed battle droids.

The group once again started moving and headed between two buildings.

“We're the Ambassadors, for the Supreme Chancellor.” The older Jedi stated. 

“Your negotiations seem to have failed, Ambassador.” One of the Queen’s governors replied.

“The negotiations never took place. It's urgent that we make contact with the Republic.”

Melinoe took a step forward. Casing Panaka to give her a bit of a confused look for a split second.

“They've knocked out all our communications, Sir.” Melinoe told the Jedi Master.

“Do you have transports?”

“Yes Sir, In the main hangar. This way.” Melinoe said in a self-assertive and bright tone. 

As Melinoe guided the group down the alleyway, she could hear the sounds of alarms going off in the distance, but didn’t think much of it.

Once they made it to the hallway outside the Central Hanger Melinoe moved over to a side door leading to the central hanger. She, the Captain, and the older Jedi all scanned the room to see several ships being guarded by about fifty battle droids or so.

“There are too many of them,” Panaka stated.

“That won't be a problem.” The Jedi said and turned to the Queen “Your Highness, under the circumstances, I suggest you come to Coruscant with us.”

“Thank you, Ambassador, but my place is here with my people.”

“They will kill you if you stay.”

“They wouldn't dare.” The governor gasped.

“They need her to sign a treaty to make this invasion of theirs legal. They can't afford to kill her.” Panaka said. 

The Jedi and Queen Amidala continued to argue quietly back and forth for a little longer before the young monarch agreed to go to Coruscant to plead her case to the Senate.

“Either choice presents a great danger.” The Queen turned to her handmaidens. “... to us all.”

“We are brave, Your Highness.” One of them replied.

“If we are going to leave, Your Highness, it has to be now,” Melinoe stated. Wanting to move this process along.

“Then, I will plead our case to the Senate.” The Queen looked over to the governor. “Be careful, Governor.”

The group made their way through the door to the main hanger and headed towards a sleek chrome spacecraft. Leaving two of the handmaidens and the governor behind.

Panaka turned to Melinoe. “Nize, go free those pilots.”

“Aye Sir.” Melinoe reliped while heading over to the group of twenty or so guards, ground crew and pilots.

“I’ll handle it.” The younger Jedi said. Moving past Melinoe. She impulsively felt a small pang of anger towards the man but was able to conceal it before he could sense anything from her.

The two of them made their way over to the group. With Melinoe raising the two blasters she took from the droids earlier, and the Jedi igniting a blue lightsaber. While the Jedi took care of the droids closest to the hostages, Melinoe took care of the ones that were of the Jedi’s reach.

After freeing the group, Melinoe started directing half the group to the ship, and the other half back towards the main doors. Once everyone was on their way Melinoe followed both the Jedi into the ship. They went their separate ways when the Jedi followed one of the pilots to the cockpit, and Melinoe went to find the Queen and the rest of the royal party. 

Melinoe had a bit of a hard time doing so. Due to the ships continued shaking from what Melinoe assumed to be the blockade shooting at them. The shaking continued while Melinoe made her way through the ship.

Luckily it all stopped by the time Melinoe found all the handmaidens. 

“Nize, are you alright?” One of them asked. Padme was her name if Melinoe remembered correctly. 

“I’m fine. What about the rest of you?”

“We’re all fine. We weren’t the ones who ran headfirst towards a group of battle droids.” Padme joked. 

“It’s hardly as if they’re a threat to me. With my training and all” Melinoe answered with that bright-eyed new recruit mask she always had on when talking to the royal entourage. 

Padme gave her a look of admiration. Like a younger sibling admiring her older sister.

Melinoe had been using the cover of the entourage's extra protection for the three months she had been on Naboo. It was a good position. One that didn’t lead to any suspicion on her part and allowed her to keep a close eye on the Queen. The handmaidens being so trusting to whom they thought as a fellow Naboo certainly helped her blend in.

After doing a headcount, the group all composed themselves and waited for an update. Not long after the two Jedi, the Captain, and little blue astromech droid entered the room.

“...An extremely well put together little droid. Without a doubt, it saved the ship, as well as our lives.” Panaka stated, explaining his report of events. 

“It is to be commended...what is its number?” The Queen asked.

The little blue droid let out a series of beeps as Melinoe moved towards it to scrap some dirt off the side of the droid.

“R2-D2, Your Highness,” she stated.

“Thank you, Artoo Detoo... Padme!”

The girl bowed to the Queen.

“Clean this droid up the best you can. It deserves our gratitude…” The Queen turned to Panaka. “Continue, Captain.”

The Captain nervously looked around the room. His eyes went to the Jedi then back to the Queen.

“Your Highness, with your permission we're heading for a remote planet called Tatooine. It is a system far beyond the reach of the Trade Federation.” The older Jedi spoke up.

“I do not agree with the Jedi on this,” Panaka added.

“You must trust my judgment, Your Highness.”

The Queen narrowed her eyes. She nodded her head and motioned for Padme to take the droid out of the room.

A while later, Melinoe was in the cockpit along with the Captain, and the two Jedi. They watched over the pilot's shoulder as a large dirty yellow planet came into view.

“That's it. Tatooine... There's a settlement.” 

“Land near the outskirts. We don't want to attract any attention.” 

The pilot controlled the ship to start heading toward the planet’s surface. The Naboo spacecraft lands in the desert in a swirl of dust. 

The Captain instructed Melinoe to take the younger Jedi to the engine room to see the damage from the escape.

After the two of them hoisted the hyperdrive out of a floor panel and started assessing it, the Jedi’s master walked in.

“The hyperdrive generator's gone, Master.”

“That'll complicate things. Be wary... I sense a disturbance in the Force.”

“I feel it also, Master.”

“Don't let them send any transmissions.”

Melinoe peeped her head up from where she was working on the other side of the hyperdrive. She watched this exchange with curiosity.

To Melinoe, there was something strange about how the two interacted. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Maybe it was the fact that she couldn’t sense any deep malice between the two.

The master Jedi later left the ship to start heading towards town to look for the parts they needed. When Padme was sent to join him, Melinoe attempted to go with her. Unfortunately, the master Jedi felt it was unecessary for another to come along. 

_ “Take the clumsy Gungan instead, you old fool.”  _ Melinoe thought to herself.

This was a problem for Melinoe. She was well aware of the girl’s true identity, unlike most people on the ship. So given that she would be separated from her for an unknown period of time made her mission of keeping an eye on her really difficult.

The only thing she could do was to continue the charade and keep broadcasting her location to Maul.

Melinoe made her way back to the engine room. She wanted to see if there was anything else they could try to fix the hyperdrive generator. She went to the cockpit later on to find the younger Jedi speaking with his master through the comlink.

“... and you're sure there's nothing left on board?” The master asked.

“A few containers of supplies, the Queen's wardrobe, maybe. But not enough for you to barter with. Not in the amounts you're talking about.”

“All right. I'm sure another solution will present itself. I'll check back later.” The older man cut the transmission.

“What was that about?” Melinoe asked.

“Don’t worry. Nothing to be concerned about.”

“There’s no point in lying to me. We’re on the same side.”

The Jedi made a noise of acknowledgement.

“My master was hoping we could trade something on the ship in exchange for a new hyperdrive.”

“Ahh, I see. Was there no other way of taking it”

“You think we should steal it?”

“I don’t see why not,” Melinoe said, crossing her arms. “It’s not like there’s much authority on the planet.”

The Jedi shook his head incredulously.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

“Nize Raza.” she replied. 

He stoked this chin. 

“Is it really?”

“Has been for as long as I can remember.” 

“I don’t think it is?”

“Is it normal for Jedi to accuse people of not knowing their own names?”

He seemed taken aback by that question. 

“My apologies,” he said, not sounding very genuine.

“Tell me your name,” Melinoe said.

“Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

Melinoe let out a doubtful hum, and walked away.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! If you’ve read to this point I would appreciate if you left a comment. Star Wars has a big universe and it can be hard to tell what I’m doing right when writing. 
> 
> Telling me what I’m doing well would go really far when writing future chapters. 
> 
> Please and Thank You ^^
> 
> Also if you wanna see bts content for Melinoe/Viveza visit my tumblr @thecaillic


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